A journal about the English Language

English Language Journal 2

*I realise we’ve done this article in class and only realised after I did it. Sorry

Name: The world's doomed in anyone's language as English is broken
Date: 2/7/13
Author: Alice Clarke

Key Ideas:

English is broken

Words being added to the dictionary are random and un-needed.

Language evolves from people creating it, not from people making it up

Language Features: Prescriptivism, language change across timeCourse Aspects: Unit 4 - AoS 1: the role of Standard and non-Standard English in Australian society

Personal Opinion: I think this woman is an idiot, words are constantly changing as much as technology is too and if she thinks that because people post things on the internet with random blugging words then she doesn’t fully understand how language works. Because words become words for a reason. All words have meaning, and there’s no point in arguing that point. Prescriptivists like this annoy me to no end.“Quotes”:

“For centuries it was influenced by the best scholars, who found new and inventive ways to advance it and make it more accessible and useful for everyone. Today, it’s more influenced by the idiots who comment on YouTube.”

“Language evolves not so much through careful cultivation but more though people getting it wrong and making it up.”

“The Oxford English Dictionary Online changed “literally” by adding a less literal, meaning: “informally used for emphasis while not being literally true: I have received literally thousands of letters”.”

Personal Opinion: I’m pretty appalled by this actually, to think that migrant parents are feeling pressured to learn English and not speak their own at all, for fear of their children having impaired learning, but I’m glad that Prof. Hajek is telling people that it can actually improve childrens learning by knowing their native language as well as English. Hopefully less parents think this way, because it’s wrong to lose your heritage.“Quotes”:

“a parents’ own lack of English language skills did not disadvantage the child learning English.”

“migrant parents were taught to undervalue their own languages, and to ignore their own histories in “a mistaken belief” that it was the only way for their children to learn English successfully.”

“There are many benefits to speaking more than one language – personal and intellectual development, improved social and cultural understanding and awareness, future career paths, cultural and family maintenance”

“In countries such as Australia many of us are fixated on English and think that another language stops the learning of English,”

Personal Opinion: I mispronounce words all the time, and don’t really care if someone mispronounces a word or my name, but I always strive to say the word correctly for fear of being ridiculed for not knowing how to say the word. I think that people shouldn’t ridicule you and just correct you to help you learn.“Quotes”:

“English spelling can be a pain. That is mainly because our language underwent some seismic sound changes after the written forms “

“The point is malapropisms and mispronunciations are fairly common.”

“Error is the engine of change, and today’s mistake could be tomorrow’s vigorously defended norm.” (good one)

English spelling can be a pain, but it’s also a repository of information about the history of pronunciation.

Personal Opinion: In my opinion, I think that the word ‘they’ can be used to describe people, whether or not you can see what gender or race they are, as it isn’t offensive to the person in the slightest, and it shouldn’t be something that people complain about.“Quotes”:

It was a younger participant, however, who stated that ‘you’re’ spelt ‘your’ resulted in an “instant loss of respect”.

Basically, young people care about different things in comparison with older generations when it comes to language.

While ‘correct’ language use was seen as valuable, avoiding marginalising people was more important.

“the gender of the person should be clear from the evidence before our eyes”.

Personal Opinion: I agree with this article in that I think if you were to learn a new language and continue learning it for the rest of your life, you will look at words and phrases differently than if just read through English. This study is interesting in that it shows the morals of people using different languages than people in different countries.“Quotes”:

“Native English speakers were almost twice as likely to push “el hombre grande” than “the large man””

“This discovery has important consequences for our globalised world, as many individuals make moral judgments in both native and foreign languages,”

“The connection between language and emotion makes sense”

“Increased familiarity with a language brings an emotional grounding which can match that of a mother tongue.”

Personal Opinion: I agree with Seth, and think that you should correct someone if they mispronounce something, but it’s not a good idea if they aren’t your friend.“Quotes”:

“you can count on reliable growth in the size of your vocabulary well into your 70s”

“we should not let ourselves be cowed in a work meeting, a classroom setting, or a casual tête–à–tête with a pal. “

“Words on the edge of your ken, whose definitions or pronunciations turn out to be just out of grasp as you reach for them. The words you basically know but, hmmm, on second thought, maybe haven’t yet mastered?”

“I was corrected in the very best way possible: quickly and reflexively by the corrector, without judgement, like an executioner with a sharp, dispassionate blade”

Personal Opinion: I believe that teaching kids these 7 messages will be useful for helping them later in life, especially message 1 “A reader’s major focus should always be meaning” is the most important message a child should learn. It sets up the basis for the rest of their lives reading, as if there is no meaning to the words, they will not make sense. Children don’t understand if something makes sense or not at that age, so if they are taught then they can learn how to read AND write easier later on in life. I also don’t think that children with no condition to affect their ability to learn would block school progress if they weren’t learning.“Quotes”:

“such children “had tangled the teaching in a web of distorted learning which blocked school progress”.”